Don't be Jealous . . .

I know my kids are CUTE and you'd really love to live where I do . . . 

headed to the livestock auction with Papa!

Thursday Fun Day!

Mason has been out on Winter Break this week and we've had lots of fun stuff going on - sleepovers, hanging out with Papa, playdates, but Thursday was our special day!

After a few errands I took him to Arts on Fire!  Mason & Conner both are obsessed with Caillou and on one episode he makes pottery with his grandma and then paints it.  Well we couldn't make our own pottery but we could paint some!  I gave Mason some explicit instructions not to touch anything so he wouldn't break anything and as luck would have it I broke something!! Not bad  - we were able to glue it back together but I ended up making a rattlesnake for Conner instead of a plate for me! Mason picked a different snake to paint.

Van Gogh (he is a painter, right?) hard at work

It's the rainbow snakes you need to watch out for!

After painting we went to Mr. Gatti's because nothing says love like sugary drinks, a pizza buffet, Tom & Jerry, and soft-serve ice cream!  Our last stop was to Petco and PetSmart to look at animals. 

A perfect day with a perfect boy!

Breaking All the Rules of Country Livin'

One of the first rules you learn about country living is trips to "town" need to be few and far between - like ideally once a week or less.  You learn to think ahead on your grocery lists . . . when you go to the doctor you squeeze in a haircut too . . . all appointments on the same day or they have to wait until next week . . . if you forget something you most definitely do not drive back - you wait until next week or perhaps until your neighbor's "town" day . . .

Bearing this in mind, Saturday I broke that most important rule!!

We started off early at 8 a.m. driving in for Mason's 9 o'clock basketball game!  I am not sure a basketball career is in our near future!  But the good news was that it turns out my cousin's nephew is on our team so I enjoyed getting to catch up with Brandi, Justin, and Abigail because it's been a year at least since I'd seen her!

Then home for me to whip up a quick paper due that day and lunch and then back to town for a birthday party for another little cousin, Sam!  Happy 3rd Birthday Sam!  The party was at In the Zone a relatively new party place and it was so nice!  The staff did EVERYTHING (even wrote down the presents and who they were from!) and it was really clean!

Here's the boys having some fun!

After a quick stopover at my sister's, we headed home AGAIN!  Picked up a bit and I finally got some lunch and then headed to Haughton for our friend, Troy's birthday party!  Happy 36th Birthday Troy!!  Ryan & I suffered from a bit of a communication breakdown and we double booked ourselves and had to leave Troy's party early but as always his wife, Rachel, hosted a fabulous party!  The boys had fun playing outside with all the other littles!

From Haughton we headed over to Bossier to do some BOWLING!! Fun!  We met up with a few friends from church and had a great time!  Mason wanted to know where his treat bag was after we left and we tried to explain that we just went and it wasn't a birthday but he didn't get it!

Conner looked so precious in his bowling shoes!!

Mason getting ready to roll a strike!

Three trips into town in one day is definitely a violation of the law in my neck of the woods but we are so blessed to have such awesome friends and family to hang out with!

Mason Lost Something & So Did I!

My sweet baby Mason has had a bad case of the sickies this past week.  He has also had a very loose tooth that he has been patiently wiggling back and forth!  He hasn't been real hungry since he hasn't felt good and the tooth has only made it worse because he's scared to bite down.

I went to church on Sunday and the boys stayed home with Ryan since they were both still under the weather and guess what Ryan handed me when I walked in the door???? My baby's tooth!!! sniff, sniff!

His hands are over his eyes because I was blinding him with the flash!  Isn't he cute!

So Mason lost a tooth and then his horrible terrible mother (that'd be me) lost his tooth!  That same tooth that grew in his mouth on January 15, 2006 and resided there for the next five years that same tooth that he asked to write a note to the tooth fairy to ask to keep because it was his first tooth to lose - I lost THAT tooth.  Imagine telling a little precious boy with 103 degree fever and a heat rash to go along with said fever who also looks like he's been in a fight because his eyes are all sunk in and black and he hasn't eaten in three days that you lost his first tooth? Then imagine your husband, your comforter, telling you at the depth of your despair that if you were going to be so irresponsible that perhaps he should have kept up with the tooth? Uh huh, it was a FABULOUS night! But sweet little Mason told me that it was OK and he still loved me - after I promised that no matter what it took I would find it.  So if anyone is available to crawl around on my floors with me I'd appreciate it!

The all-knowing Tooth Fairy still visited and still left money even without the tooth though - perhaps she knows that it is here SOMEWHERE!

CONGRATULATIONS MASON!

Back in High School

Today I had a somewhat deja vu experience . . . I observed at my former high school!  Last night in preparation I packed a sack lunch and I realized that I packed almost the exact same lunch as I did in 1998!  Turkey sandwich with Sandwich Spread and pretzels.  The only difference is that I had Scooby Doo Fruit Treats and not a Ding Dong.  The even sadder part of that is I was talking to an old high school friend at school and told her this story and she remembered that I brought a Ding Dong to school everyday.  And as an aside, oh what I'd give to be able to eat Ding Dongs everyday again!

So apparently my lunch choices have not changed in 13 - 15 years!!!

I observed a former teacher in the exact same class she taught me - 11th grade American History.  I did not feel as smart as I did back then because I have forgotten all about Teddy Roosevelt and the Square Deal and the Progressive Movement.

And way back when we did not cameras in the stairwells.  And students could not wear jeans as ripped as these kiddos did!

But anyway, my last class was Honors English IV in the exact same room I had English IV in - kind of crazy!  And if you are wondering why I did not take Honors English it is because we did not have Honors classes back in the old days!

It was a fun experience but a little weird to see how time passes and lots of things change but some things stay the same regardless of time!

The HEAT is on!

It's 27 degrees outside and the HEAT was on at Calvary Baptist Church's Family Life Center last night - the Calvary Hoops HEAT 5/6 Co-Ed basketball team that is!

Mason has been dying to play basketball and last night was his first game!  Ryan & I went and my mom stayed home with sweet baby Conner who is feeling something terrible!  The game was the first time 8 people from our team, or actually just more than 4, all showed up at the same time so as you can imagine it was something a little chaotic.  Our team lost and looked a little lost on the court but fun was had by all!  In our defense, they say we played THE TEAM and they are all in 1st grade, older than us, and played together last year.

Here is my man Mason, #4

(I'm going to need help thinking of a famous white basketball player other than Larry Bird.)

Saying a prayer before the game . . .

didn't realize at the time that Mason wasn't praying he was smiling at the camera!



the HEAT getting a little practice in

GO HEAT!

Go Pack Go!

No pictures - sorry - but we did have a great Super Bowl Party at our house on Sunday! Maybe not as cute as this one but still fun! Ryan is a HUGE GREEN BAY PACKERS FAN! Huge, I tell you! For example, for his birthday this past November he asked for Green Bay Packers salt & pepper shakers - he did not receive them but wanted them nonetheless!  Instead he got a GB jacket, T-shirt, and hat which he has worn to any public outing, including church, for the past month! This has led to many objections from me because it causes random men to stop and talk to us FOREVER about football instead of say taking my food order at Taco Mania!

But anyway, the game was fun! I normally do not get into football or root for a specific team but we all dressed in our yellow & green and all of our decorations and tableware was yellow green and we had plenty of cheesy stuff to represent well for the Cheeseheads!  Ryan's cousin Patrick is a HUGE PITTSBURG STEELERS FAN so winning was all the sweeter for Ryan!

And to my friend Kandy we used the bowl you made me for a wedding shower for our chips - it's green on the outside, yellow on the inside and says GO PACK GO!

Happy Birthday John Ryan

We had a great time at John Ryan's 5th birthday party this weekend!  The boys love skating, well Conner not so much because we know now that he was getting an ear infection and really didn't want to be there! But he does like to skate under normal conditions!

Cold Weather Fun

We haven't gotten quite as much snow as the rest of the world but we have had fun in the COLD this past week!  On Wednesday (I know I'm behind) there was a little ice on the ground and as the mother of little country boys we don't pass up any opportunity to beat on something (ice) with a stick or a garden tool!

After we picked Mason up from school we came in to get our cold weather gear on and Mason started screaming and laughing "Mama look! Mama look!" and their were two mules in our backyard!  We called my dad and he told me someone to call and see if they belonged to them - so after a few phone calls about some missing mules (we love living in the country - stray mules, not dogs) we headed outside!

The boys & I wandered over to the creek in search of ice to break up!

I've always wanted a picture here on these tree roots since there is no ground underneath them

and today I finally remembered my camera!



Friday we actually got a little snow and ice and we came

back out to bust some more stuff up!

My dad found us playing outside at our house and he brought us to his house!

He went missing for a little while and when he came back he had built a sled!

Darling boys!

Ryan, Conner, Mason, & Dad

The boys are standing in the horses water trough that is COMPLETELY frozen solid!

Conner let me have a turn on the sled with Mason!

We just got through pelting the on-lookers with snowballs!

And Conner's sad face is because he doesn't like my parents new (and now gone) dog!

Mom gets a "tow" back home!

It was fun cold day!  Now thanks to that Conner has a nasty cold (as close to the flu as you can get without actually having the flu) and a "bulging" ear infection!